The Best Cashback Apps to Save Money Every Time You Shop

Saving money every time you shop is more than clipping coupons and buying items on sale. The best cashback apps help you save extra money on each purchase in addition to coupons and discount codes. You can use these cashback apps from your phone or computer, and they are also free to use.

How Do Cashback Apps Work?

Maybe you’ve heard of cashback apps before, but you think they are too good to be true. After all, why would a retailer give you back more money than they absolutely have to?

The reason why is that many savvy shoppers choose a particular store or brand because they offer the lowest prices. Retailers would rather make a sale than see you support a competitor.

Because cashback apps don’t look at what you buy until after you pay for your purchase, you won’t pay more through a cashback app for the same purchase. After you checkout at a local store, you take a picture of your receipt and usually receive credit within 24 hours. If you make an online order, your purchase has a unique tracking number that’s forwarded to the cashback app to receive credit.

As you will see, each cashback app offers cash different rewards and payout. Some apps require you to activate offers on specific items before you checkout and other apps pay a flat percentage on the entire purchase amount.

When you’re ready to get paid, you can redeem your balance for cash rewards or gift cards. For cash rewards, most apps offer PayPal payments and direct deposit.

Cashback Apps Provide Extra Savings Beyond Coupons and Discounts

Cashback apps provide additional savings above any coupons, in-store promotions, or discount codes you use in the checkout process. So if you get 10% back on the entire purchase, it will be on the final purchase total after all discounts have been applied. If it’s a $38 purchase, you will get $3.80 back.

Remember, cashback apps don’t care what discounts you redeem before you pay for the purchase. They only need you to activate the offers or shopping session before you checkout or scan your paper receipt.

The Best Cashback Apps for Any Purchase

Using these apps will help you save money on nearly every purchase you can make online or in-person. By taking a few extra seconds before you checkout, you save a small fortune by regularly using an app.

Ibotta

Before every grocery trip, you need to use Ibotta. You can save money at supermarkets and discount retailers like Walmart and Target on the some of the following purchase categories:

Groceries

Beauty and Personal Care

Apparel

Tech and Electronics

Ibotta primarily offers cashback on specific name brand items, but you can still earn at least 25 cents per visit even if you buy items without active Ibotta offers.

What makes Ibotta even better is that you can get cashback with your in-app purchases. You can earn bonus cash back at online retailers including Amazon, Zulily, Blue Apron, and Hulu. These rewards combine with your in-store purchase to build your rewards balance. Ibotta runs monthly promotions that make it easy to earn bonus cash with no additional effort on your part.

Once your rewards balance reaches $20 (it’s easier than it sounds), you can request payment by PayPal, Venmo, or gift cards.

You can also get $10 back after redeeming your first Ibotta offer too!

Ebates

Ebates lets you get up to 40% back at more than 2,500 online retailers. By linking your credit or debit card, you can also get cash back on select in-store purchases too. Downloading the Ebates mobile app gives you additional bonus cash opportunities you can’t get on their website.

When you need to buy clothing, book a vacation, or other merchandise, Ebates is your best option to get cash back with your online and mobile purchases. To get cash back, all you have to do is visit the Ebates website, activate the browser plugin, or access a retail website through the Ebates mobile app to start your unique shopping session and receive your cash rewards with 24 hours.

BerryCart

BerryCart works at any store that provides a printed, itemized receipt. Activate the product offer and take a picture of your receipt with your phone to receive the discount.

Paribus

If you own a credit card, it probably has some form of price protection benefits that refund you the cash difference if a product price drops after you make an online purchase. Paribus monitors over 25 online stores for price drops to help you get cash back by submitting a price adjustment claim.

You can get cash back at some of the following stores:

Walmart

Target

Macy’s

Costco

Office Depot

Most of us don’t look at the purchase price after we buy an item, but Paribus does. Paribus will begin monitoring your online purchases when you link your email account.

You’ll be wishing you had started using Paribus earlier as you wonder how many times you have overpaid for something?

By using another cashback app like Ibotta or Ebates and Paribus, you have a chance to get cash rewards twice! This is because you’ll immediately get cashback from Ibotta or Ebates and the second cash reward if Paribus spots a price drop.

When you submit a claim, the refund amount will deposit on the card you used to make the original purchase.

Why You Need to Start Using a Cashback App Immediately

Still not convinced that you need to use a cashback app to save money on every purchase? Here are a few reasons why you should reconsider:

Get extra cashback with minimal effort on any online or in-store purchase

Coupons and discount codes aren’t required

Cashback apps are free!

Using a cashback app is an easy way to save hundreds of dollars every year. Between using apps, getting product freebies, and keeping a sharp eye for good deals, you’ll find more money in your wallet than simply settling for retail prices.